The complexity of a general purpose database system combined with the complexity of a general purpose operating system with which the database system interacts on a general purpose computer is typically sufficient to require employment of a full-time database administrator (DBA). It is the responsibility of the DBA to grapple with the complexity of the database system, the operating system, and the interactions between them, so that the other database users can take advantage of the database system without being exposed to underlying complexity. Unfortunately, employing a full-time DBA makes ownership of a useful database system an expensive option that may be outside the means of the small to medium sized enterprise.
Some of the most challenging tasks related to maintaining a database system include the initial installation of the system, and subsequent upgrades to the system. When a new database device is added to the network, its address should be added to a directory server, information about its configuration should be added to a backup server, and the installed applications and consumable resources of the device should be made available to a management services server. With conventional database appliances, a human operator must recognize when a new appliance has been connected to the network and must register that new appliance with the management services server and update the directory server and the backup server. Then the human operator chooses management tasks that the new appliance should perform. This procedure is complex and tedious and subject to human error. The human errors are more likely the less often the database administrator adds a particular device to the network. Even in a large enterprise with a dedicated database administrator, the administrator may have relatively few opportunities to add a particular device to the network and thus be prone to making errors. In a small to medium sized enterprise, the opportunities to add a particular device are even more rare, and the propensity for errors even greater.
Based on the foregoing, it is clearly desirable to provide a computer system that employs features that reduce the cost of maintaining the hardware and software of the database system. It is further desirable to decrease the complexity of computer systems, and to provide management techniques that allow companies to reduce the size and cost of their in-house IS departments.